The Path Towards Hope
by CommanderRaccoon13
Summary: The year is 2039. Supergirl is dead. Heroes are forced to hide in the shadows, hunted for sport. The only way to save the future, is to change the past. Enter Kara and Lena's daughter, who travels twenty years into the past in hopes of changing everything and saving her family.
1. Hope

_**AN: Hello my dear readers! And may I welcome you to this fantastic ride of a story! I've been toying with the idea of writing a Supercorp story since I first stumbled across Supergirl right when it's second season came to Netflix and Katie McGrath waltzed into my world like the magnificent woman she is. I never had the muster to actually sit down and write one out, because I always felt like I could never do this ship its justice. So when this idea came into my head one day, I thought, "Hey, why not give it a try?" And after many failed attempts these past few years at this story, I think I have a pretty good idea for a plot. This chapter is extremely short. I know. I didn't want to give up too much in the first chapter, because once I get started with the rest of it, I feel like it's just going to flow out without control. I wanted to keep this story nice and neat. **_

_**As far as my other stories go, I haven't given up on WITS. I've just had a horrible case of writer's block this past semester of college and work always keeps me so busy. And with the next semester literally right around the corner, I've been so focused on that, that any mojo I felt for WITS has evaded me. I still plan on continuing the story, especially since I basically left it on the plot's climax. I'll get around to it eventually. I still have hopes and dreams for it. **_

_**But now we continue on with this story. This will basically take place right before the crossover event, so it will be like all the Earth's being destroyed never happened. Sorry if I just ruined the crossover event for anyone. So Lena knows about Kara, and she's angry. Everything else that had happened in the series has happened as well. Nothing is really changing, just that eventually Kara and Lena will get together. And we get to meet Supercorp's kid! She's enjoyable to write. I still have no idea what L name to use for her. If you all have any ideas, feel free to leave a comment and maybe I'll be able to choose her name that way. Let me know what you all think so far. I'll update as soon as I can. **_

_**~CommanderRaccoon**_

* * *

Ch:1

Hope, by it's very definition is something regarded with the highest honor by my family. Both my mother and her cousin proudly bore their home planet's symbol of hope for many years. They protected this world, and others, until their very faces became the universal symbol of hope for anyone who was willing to accept and believe in it. Not everyone did. My mother used to tell me that there could never be good without evil, light without darkness. That no matter how horrible things seemed at the moment, hope would light the way, would always be the most powerful weapon someone could hold.

Hope let me down in the most horrific of ways.

Hope wasn't what I was clinging to when I watched my mother's last fight, when her lifeless body was falling to the earth at a speed only I could bare witness to. Hope wasn't pouring down like the rain was that nigh, like a vail of blurred colors and outlines molding together to create one blurry vision of the fight that changed the world, changed my world. And hope most certainly wasn't there when I was presented my mother's cape at her funeral.

It's easy to say that I haven't had much hope these past four years. Not when superheroes have become public enemy number one, hunted down for sport and exploited on a nation-wide basis.

But hope is all I have at the moment…standing exactly twenty years in the past, on the same sidewalk my mother died on, staring up at the rays of sunshine reflecting off the building's outer layer of glass panels, hoping that I could convince the past self of the person who sent me here, to help fix the future.

Exactly how…I hadn't gotten that far yet


	2. L-Corp

_**What's up, everybody? I'm so excited that this story has gotten so much positive feedback from one chapter, and a short one at that. I've been so stoked to sit down, finish and upload this chapter that I've neglected doing any of my school work for the first week of the semester. This chapter was so exciting to write, especially following the events of the end of the crisis. If you haven't seen it yet, I won't give away any spoilers, but you should watch it as soon as you can. **_

_**Anyway, this chapter was always meant to be the big reveal on Lena's end. I wanted to have their daughter meet her first, as it was her who originally sent her back to the past to fix everything. The dialogue might not be exactly where I wanted it to be, but it's what I got when I imagine a perfect mixture of Kara and Lena and how they both talk and act. I hope you all enjoy this update. Let me know what you think.**_

_**~Commander **_

* * *

Chapter Two:

"Good evening and welcome to L-Corp plaza. How can I help you?"

"Yes. I need to speak with Ms. Luthor. As soon as possible."

The man behind the front desk, who finally looked up from what looked like his latest subscription of Sports Illustrated, one eyebrow raised in curiosity. "Do you have an appointment with Ms. Luthor?"

Taking note of the clock on the wall behind him, I quickly shook my head as I tried to come up with the perfect excuse that would get me pass this dude and security. "No. I do not, but I-."

"Well I am sorry, young lady, but unless you have an appointment I'm afraid that Ms. Luthor is too busy to speak with you. If you would like, I could contact her upstairs assistant and schedule you in for a meeting at a later date."

"No. You don't understand. I _need_ to speak with Ms. Luthor. Right now."

A few moments of silence passed as I stared down this man, wondering why I hadn't thought of a good excuse before bursting into here demanding to speak with the CEO of a multi-billion dollar company. Probably not my best idea, but hey, what's a girl gonna do in the middle of a crisis?

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the man behind the desk let out a sigh before pressing the call button on the button built into his desk. "Jess? I am so sorry to bother you, but there's a young lady down here demanding to speak to Ms. Luthor. Does she have any openings today?"

Following a short sound of static, the familiar voice came through from the opposite end. "No, I'm sorry. Ms. Luthor's schedule is booked. However, there is an opening for next Tuesday. Would that suffice?"

"I know about experiment KR-113!"

As the man went to respond to the question, I quickly blurted out the first thing that came to mind, hoping that Jess had heard me. A few more moments of silence followed, until Jess' voice interrupted the silence. "Noah, can you please send our guest upstairs with a visitor's pass? Ms. Luthor's schedule has just opened up long enough for her to speak with her."

Grumbling to himself, the man responded before handing over the laminated visitor's pass. "Use the elevator. Ms. Luthor's office is located on the top floor."

Letting out a sigh of relief, I took the pass and made my way over towards the elevator, scanning it across the verification checkpoint before the man behind the desk could instruct me to do so. His eyes continued to follow me up until the elevator doors closed, successfully allowing me to breath normally.

So that hadn't gone exactly as planned.

In fact, that whole scenario would have went way better if I had just kept my cool.

The ding of the elevator startled me out of my thoughts, and I silently gripped the visitor's pass a little tighter in my hand as I made my way down the long hallway, taking in my surroundings as I did. Not much was different. The place was just as modern and devoid of feeling as ever. Just thirty years younger...

Rounding the corner of the hallway, I noticed that Jess was already standing in front of her desk, tablet placed in the crook of her elbow, a smile plastered on her face. A smile that I was regularly familiar with. It was the same smile that she would use on investors and board members, people who who deemed threats. And something was slightly unsettling at seeing that smile directed towards me.

"Hello. Ms. Luthor is just finishing her conference call. You can go ahead and head in. Can I get you anything?"

"No. Thank you."

With a nod, Jess opened up the double doors, at which I hesitated at slightly before stepping into the office. Still sitting in front of the office couch was the same table that held the same chess pieces that I knew like the back of my hand, had learnt the game with and played more times than I could irony at the way some things never change almost caused me to smile, until the closing of the doors behind me forced my attention away from the chess pieces and towards the ceiling-to-floor glass windows, and emerald green eyes.

"You caused quite the stirrup in my lobby."

Gulping slightly, I cleared my throat before taking a few more steps into the office, placing myself a few feet away from her desk. "I-."

"Why don't you just tell me who you are and why you know about the ongoing, private experiments of L-Corp?"

The question came out a bit icy, and I could feel myself shrinking away slightly under the intense look I was receiving, glancing out of the corner of my eye when the sound of a phone unlocking caught my attention. "Right. I have a perfectly reasonable explanation for all of this. And it doesn't require your assistant calling security. I know the speaker on your desk is on. You can tell Jess to stand down. Ben's services are not required. Not for me."

Unsurprisingly enough, the woman in front of me showed no signs of surprise. She calmly glanced down at the speaker on her phone before pressing a button. "Alright. I'm not sure how you knew any of that, but if you would kindly just tell me what it is you want, we can-."

"I need your help."

"My help with what?"

Weighing my options, I eventually let out a sigh before shaking my head. "I guess the best place to start would be by introducing myself. My name is Ali. And as crazy and impossible as this is going to sound, I'm not from here. Not this time, at least. I'm from thirty years into the future, and I came here because I need your help saving said future."

One perfectly sculpted eyebrow rose. "And you expect me to believe all that?"

"Not exactly. I knew it would take some...reasoning or proof for your to believe me. I'm willing to let you take a blood sample from me, if that will help."

"How would a blood sample help prove anything?"

Rolling up the sleeve of my shirt, I revealed the slightly faded black letters and numbers imprinted on my inner wrist. "Because no matter what time, whether it's future or past, L-Corp will recognize my blood. This place created me."

Green eyes scanned over the letters and numbers before meeting my own once again, this time with less distrust and more confusion. "L-Corp created you? That's imp-."

"Impossible? Well, where I come from, impossible isn't it our vocabulary. If I let you run the tests, and I can prove to you that I am who I am, will you give me ten minutes to tell you why I'm here and why I need your help?"

After a brief pause, the woman rose from her desk, glancing down at the various stack of paperwork littering its surface. "I still don't understand why taking a blood sample would help. Even if I did run it against L-Corp's databases, it wouldn't tell me anything besides that somehow you're connected to my company. It's not enough proof for me to believe you, so unless you have something else, you can leave the same way you came in."

"The databases won't tell you that I have a connection to this company. At least not yet. They'll prove that I'm connected to you."

Once again, another pause took over, the tension in the room rising with every second ticking past that neither one of us said anything. This apparent staring match that I was locked in wouldn't be ending any time soon. Neither one of us would look away first. It wasn't in our nature to do so. Losing and backing down wasn't something I was raised to do. So in order to do the best I could at ending this, I kept my eyes locked with hers as I said the only thing I could at that moment.

"I'm your daughter."


	3. A Promise

**_Hey, guys! Here's chapter three as promised. This chapter, however, is mostly just a little insight to the events leading up to the beginning of the story. I wanted to give you all some scenes of Ali and everyone in the future, and there will be plenty of them. _**

**_This was mostly just a filler chapter, as I'm still working on the next part of the story where Ali explains everything to Lena. But I still wanted to give you all something, so I gave you all this kinda of sad portion of this story. There is a moment between future Alex and Ali, and a moment between Ali and future Lena. I absolutely love writing them together and I plan on updating again soon. _**

**_Let me know what you all think!_**

**_~Commander_**

* * *

Chapter Three:

_National City: 2039_

"_...standing here, at the memorial monument, where four years ago today, our beloved hometown hero was struck down. The monument, donated by an anonymous member of the community, serves as a representation of what the world lost that day. Supergirl."_

_Even I couldn't help the snort that quietly came out of me as I stood off to the side of the festivities, listening in on the various interviews that the news staff was conducting. "Anonymous donor, my ass."_

_If only everyone here knew the story behind this place. The story behind the thirty-foot metal statue that stood proudly in the center of the park, my family's house crest perfectly centered at the foot of my mother's replica. Every piece of metal held a different story, as each piece was taken from one of my mother's battles. From the first time she outed herself as Supergirl, the plane she kept from crashing, to the broken off pieces of Fort Rozz, each piece was so much more important than anyone here realized. And it wasn't the first time I've found myself standing in the center of the memorial, staring up at the legacy that was handed down to me. _

"_I thought I'd find you here."_

_Without having to look away from the statue, I shrugged a shoulder as my aunt walked up next to me, scanning the statue and the festivities around us herself. "Just needed some air."_

"_Weird. The last I remember, you said you were going to the bathroom. Two hours later and no one can get a hold of you. Do you know how worried we've all been? On this day especially, Ali. You scared us all."_

_Swallowing the lump of pent up emotion in my throat, I finally tore my eyes away from the statue to look over at my aunt. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to just...leave. I just couldn't stand in that room with everything so quiet. We do this every year, and I hate it."_

"_And you couldn't just tell us that? Or at least your mother?"_

_At that thought alone, the few tears that had been welling up behind my eyes for the better part of the afternoon finally seeped through, leaving burning tracks as they ran down my cheeks. "I miss her."_

_Letting out a sigh, my aunt wrapped an arm around my shoulder, pulling me into her side. "I know, kiddo. I miss her, too."_

* * *

_I hesitated outside the penthouse door, flipping my key over and over in my hand. _

"_You know, you're going to have to eventually go in and face the music, kiddo."_

_Wincing slightly at the voices that drifted through the door and to my ears, I turned slightly to look at Alex. "Was she mad?"_

_My aunt shrugged, taking the key from my hand before opening the door and throwing an arm over my shoulders, leading us into the penthouse. "She was upset...justifiably. Worried about you. But I texted her before we left the park to tell her I found you. But I don't think she was mad, honey."_

_As soon as the sound of the penthouse door closing echoed throughout the living room, the conversation in the next room stopped completely, but I let Alex guide me from the front entrance to the kitchen, where everyone had been gathered before I took my unexpected leave of absence. Most everyone was still here. Aunt Kelly and Uncle James were still seated at the kitchen table, various photographs and other pieces of paper scattered around them. I had yet to look at the stack, knowing that each piece was something of my mother's or held her picture, and just the thought of look at them made my stomach churn slightly. _

_For a few moments, everyone was quiet, and a quick glance around the room made me realize that my mother's presence was not here, and that like Aunt Alex said, I should probably just face the music and go find her. _

_Stepping away from my aunt, who gave my shoulder a squeeze before letting me go, I mumbled my apologies to the others into the room before making my way down the extensive hallway of rooms until I stopped at one in particular, not having to strain my super hearing to hear my mother's faint heartbeat on the other side. _

_With a light click of the door knob turning, I entered the room, straining my neck to try and find my mother, who I eventually found sitting on the balcony, an empty wine glass settled on the table in front of her._

"_Mom?"_

_The only response I received was the slight turn of her head in acknowledgment of my presence, at which I sighed and walked out onto the balcony. "Mom, I'm sorry. I didn't-."_

"_There have been seven aliens found and executed at city hall since you've been gone. And up until Alex texted me, I didn't know if any of them were you. You left your phone here, your ear piece was off. Now is not the time to say, "I'm sorry, Mom. I didn't mean to worry you." Because you did worry me, Ali. You disappeared, the day that Kara-."_

_Her words cut off abruptly, and I knew enough about my mother to know that she had stopped there before the emotion caused her to lose her calm. It was something she did often. A side effect of growing up in the Luthor household. _

"_I already lost your mother, Ali. I can't lose you too."_

_Without saying a word, I walked around the end of the lounger, picking up the familiar red cape that was draped over my mother's lap before settling in beside her. "You're not gonna lose me, Mom. I promise."_

_Silently, my mother's green eyes landed on me, clouded with unshod tears. Everything unsaid in that moment was passed between the two of us, and as my hand sought out hers under the cape and her arm pulled me into her side, we both knew that my promise would only hold for so long. The alien hunts were becoming more and more frequent, and more were being publicly executed each and every day. _

_But for now, I would try and keep that promise, as we both sat cuddled under my mother's cape, grieving for the light that was taken from our lives. _


	4. R&D

_**Hey, guys! So here's chapter four. The next chapter, I am going to be shifting between Kara and Lena's POV, which will probably be written in third person. I kind of want to keep any first person to be for Ali, but hey, Kara gets to meet her daughter in the next chapter. Of course, not under the best circumstances, as Ali has a kryptonite bullet in her shoulder. But it's going to be one heck of a ride. **_

_**As I said before, I'm going to keep this story line pre crisis. It would be so complicated to try and rearrange everything to make this earth, Earth Prime. So as far as my story-line goes, this is the first time Kara and Lena will be seeing each other since the incident at the Fortress and Lena's attempt to mind control everyone. What better way to get those two back together than with their daughter being shot. And the identity of the man and the transmattter portal watch and everything will be explained probably in the next chapter or so.**_

_**Let me know what you all think. **_

_**Love, Commander Raccoon. **_

* * *

Chapter Four:

I gently pealed the bandage back from the crook of my elbow, examining the area to make sure that the wound was completely healed thanks to my super charged genes before tossing it into the waste bin on the table next to me.;"

"Alright," my mother pulled off her latex gloves, leaning against one of the tables that held many pieces of metal and remnants of experiments. "You have ten minutes to explain what the hell is going on.""You're not even going to wait for the results?"

"I don't have to. Anyone claiming to be related to a Luthor, let alone claiming to be my child, is either clinically insane or telling the truth."

Despite the tension in the air, I smiled slightly. "Yeah, but you're pretty much spot on. I am a Luthor. The clinically insane part just comes with the genes."

The beeping of an alert on the tablet pulled both of our attention to it, and I chewed on the bottom of my lip as my mother's hand reached out towards it, knowing that once she read the results of everything in that sample, it could either end good or bad. And I was prepared for both. "So it would seem that I am capable of reproducing after all."

I calmly waited, watching as my mother's face became more and more scrunched up with confusion. "I don't...I don't understand this. Half of your DNA is undeniably mine, but the rest is...what is this?"

Scooting off the edge of the table, I gently reached up to fumble with the glasses sitting on my nose. "Uh, about that...I'm-."

"Ms. Luthor? I'm sorry to interrupt. But the cleaning crew is ready to start on RD's level. Should I tell them to come back later or...?"

Jess' voice over the intercom interrupted me, and I pulled my hand away from my face as I awaited my mother's answer. "It's fine, Jess. We're finished. Go ahead and let them down."

After getting conformation about the cleaning crew, I waited until my mother was finished replacing everything back in its rightful spot before following her out of the double doors and down the hall towards the elevator. Halfway down the hall, the dinging of the elevator doors opening caused me to glance up in confusion. Sure enough, a man dressed in a maintenance crew jumper was pushing a mop and bucket out of the elevator and in our direction. But the problem was that it had been less than twenty seconds since Jess announced their arrival, meaning he had left before getting the okay from my mother, there was no way he would be downstairs already.

Slipping the glasses off my face, I scanned the upper levels, seeing the work crew just now getting onto the elevator. So who the hell was this dude that was passing us and giving us a creepy smile? As I thought this, a quiet clicking sound forced my feet to halt, sound of a bullet being chambered into a gun. And right as I turned to look behind me, the shot rang out, a silver bullet slicing through the air and in our direction.

Vaguely I remember my mother's voice calling out to me to look out, but I had already stepped directly into the bullet's trajectory, reaching out to grab the small piece of metal before it could pass me. And after letting the crushed piece of metal drop to the floor with a clang, I quickly rushed up to my mother, pausing only slightly to see her shocked expression before I flew her down the remainder section of the hallway, setting her on her feet gently before turning my attention back towards the opposite end of the hall.

Credits to this dude, as his face gave nothing away, but the slight shake in his hand and the increasing of his heart rate told me that my presence in all of this was definitely not a part of his plan. With a rush of wind, I was now standing directly in front of the man, bending the end of his gun upwards in a way that I knew it wouldn't be able to fire again before ducking under the swing of his fist, successfully allowing me to land my own punches to his face and stomach respectively.

As the man fell down to the floor with a groan, I reached over to the wall, tapping the emergency button to alert security upstairs that something was going on. Unfortunately, the momentary distraction gave the man an opportunity to reload his gun, and I was vaguely aware of the light green glow that now surrounded the bullet casing. Apparently my presence here wasn't as surprising as I thought.

With a bang, the bullet shot out of the chamber and in my direction, lodging itself in my upper right shoulder before I could even react to the knowledge that whoever this was was aware of who I was...what I was. And that he had somehow gotten a hold of kryptonite. Ignoring the searing pain in my right shoulder, I attempted to try and reach out and grab in the general direction of the man who had shot me, but my reflexes had been severely damaged thanks to the bullet in my shoulder. Any more movement than needed would only send the kryptonite pulsing through my blood stream faster.

I could only watch helplessly as the man tapped something on his wrist, opening the eerily familiar transmitter portal before sending one final wave in my direction. "I'll be back for you, little super. And you might want to get that shoulder looked at. It looks pretty gnarly."

Gritting my teeth against the pain, I finally let my shaking knees buckle under me, letting myself drop down to the tiled floor. I could feel the blood seeping through the gap in my fingers, and as the world around me began to become slightly blurry, I could hear someone calling my name. But it was muffled, almost like being underwater. And all I could think of was a memory. Of when my mother had taken me to the DEO as a child, and my grandmother's AI had replaced the metal room's walls with a holograph of what Krypton had looked like.

I had thought it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen, seeing the red tint to everything. Looking up at what used to be Rao, something that I knew my mother had held dear. And as the edges of my vision finally turned to black, I could almost hear my mother's soft voice in my ear repeating a prayer in our native language, the words flowing around my mind in a calming sense of ease.

**"Though we go forth alone, our soul unites us under Rao's gladsome rays. We're never lost, never afraid, for we shrink not under the Sun of Righteousness. Rao binds us to those we love. He gives us strength when we have none. And in the darkest places, he guides us. For Rao sees all, feels all. His love eternal. Rao protect us so that we might protect others. And we shall rise, a fire in His heart, burning and free."**


	5. Building Up Walls

_**And here we have it. The moments that absolutely killed me to write. Because I hate having to make it where Lena is still upset with Kara and doesn't trust her. They both deserve so much more than what the show's giving them. **_

_**So I am going to fix that in this story. This is what should happen. Lena needs time, we'll give her time, but eventually she knows she'll have to forgive Kara because...let's face it...she's in love with her. For the time being, I am going to have to write them like this, but I will eventually fix it. I promise. **_

_**Kara now knows who Ali is, and I'm going to go into so much detail about what happens in the future and everything in the next chapter. And I'm also going to include a few heart-touching moments between our favorite couple and their daughter. If you all follow the show and everything, I feel like we could all use that after Kara and William's date.**_

_**Continue to let me know what you all think. Also, I need to come up with a middle name for Ali. And I was wanting to keep the Luthor tradition alive of having her middle name start with an 'L'. So if you all have any ideas, feel free to leave some names in a review. Just don't suggest any that have already been popularly used, I don't want to step on the toes of anyone who also had the fantastic idea of writing Kara and Lena as parents with a daughter. **_

_**~Commander Raccoon **_

* * *

**KARA**

The ringing of her cell phone startled the Kryptonian out of slumber, forcing Kara to glance at the clock with a frown before answering her sister's call, wondering what could possibly be going on a little after midnight. Her super hearing hadn't picked up any sirens or screaming, but obviously whatever it was, Alex had deemed it important enough to wake her.

"Alex? What's going on?"

On the other side of the line, Kara could hear the sounds of medical equipment clanging together and the tense voices of other DEO agents. "Kar. I'm sorry to wake you, but something happened. I need you to get to the DEO as soon as- someone get me some suction over here! I can't see the wound!"

That sentence had the blonde sitting straight up in bed. "Alex? Is someone hurt?"

Instead of receiving an answer, Kara just listened to her sister shouting out more instructions before the line suddenly went dead. In a rush, the blonde was racing around the room to get changed into her suit. Without skipping a beat, Kara was out of her window in a flash, speeding down through National City at top speed, worry filling her entire chest.

Who could have possibly been hurt? Or hurt enough that it warranted her sister asking her to come in the middle of the night while sounding extremely stressed out about whatever was happening.

Landing on her feet with a light thud, the superhero was already marching through the DEO, rounding the hallways towards the medical bay when she noticed J'onn standing by one of the doors, one hand reached out and touching the shoulder of the last person Kara had ever expected to see here at the DEO again.

But sure enough, standing less than ten feet from her was Lena, and after the initial shock of seeing her (especially after everything that had happened) Kara finally noticed the look on the CEO's face. There had been few times Kara could remember seeing the usually well composed woman looking frazzled and worried, but something had obviously happened that was causing the woman distress.

"Lena?"

The CEO's head turned in Kara's direction, a brief flash of hurt that the superhero had seen on her face at the Fortress when finally finding out the truth was quickly replaced with the same look of worry. And as much as it pained the hero to know that the woman was still upset with her, Kara quickly crossed the short distance between the two of them, noticing the red tint to the CEO's hands. "Lena, are you hurt?"

With a light shake of the woman's head, Kara reached out in an attempt to bridge the divide between her and the CEO, flinching slightly when the woman automatically took a step backwards. "Lena. What's going on? Why do you have so much blood on you?"

"I'm fine. I just...I didn't...I didn't know where else to bring her."

Confusion replaced the worry fluttering around the superhero's chest, and she instantly glanced over towards the medical bay when J'onn stepped away, probably realizing that whatever was going on would require some type of privacy for the two women.

Amongst the chaos of the operating room, Kara could make out her sister and several other members of the DEO's medical team working vigorously on the limp form laying across the table. Through the glass walls, Kara could hear her sister yelling out orders, could hear the faint heartbeat of the girl they were trying to save, but Kara barely paid attention to any of that.

For some odd reason, the hero was frozen in place. The only part of the girl that was visible was her head, the rest of her body covered with surgical drapes, but the features on said head held her entire attention. It was bluntly obvious that whoever this girl was, she was related to Lena in some way. The girl's hair color matched the CEO's perfectly, and the contour of her face was almost identical to Lena's. But there was something the blonde couldn't quite figure out. Something off about the girl that made it clear that the other half of her genes didn't come from the blonde's former best friend. She just couldn't put her finger on it.

After a few more minutes of staring at the girl, Kara glanced up to see her sister dropping something into a lead pan, the blonde's eyes widening when she recognized the familiar green glow coming from the crushed bullet.

Kryptonite.

Once the object had been safely disposed of, the blonde watched as her sister turned to look in her direction, the look on her sister's face held nothing but pity. Obviously she knew something Kara didn't, and the blonde was beginning to panic just slightly.

Why had Alex called her down here for this? Was it because of the kryptonite? Who was the girl and why had Lena brought her here?

When her sister finally stepped out from the medical bay, the CEO beat the blonde to the punch, stepping forward with her arms crossed over her chest in an almost defensive way. "Is she going to be okay?"

Kara watched her sister nod and didn't miss the way the CEO visibly relaxed with that knowledge. "Okay, what am I missing here? Why did that girl have a kryptonite bullet in her?"

"I actually think that's something Lena should probably tell you, sis. So I am going to go get changed and I'll let you two talk. There's a break room right down the hall, if you'd rather have some privacy. I'll find you both in a bit."

Watching her sister's retreating form for a few seconds, the hero's eyes automatically ventured back over to the girl's form. The remaining members of the medical team were just finishing up, tossing several blood stained gauze into a waste bin. The sight of the blood forced the hero to look away, only to see the CEO staring into the room with an unreadable look on her face.

After a few moments, the CEO broke the silence, her voice slightly shaky. "I'd never seen Kryptonian DNA before. That's why I couldn't figure out the rest of the gene sequencing when I looked at the sample. And then everything happened so fast. The gun firing and she...she crushed the bullet. It reminded me so much of you that the only thing I could do was just stand there, completely and utterly shocked."

Kara silently listened to the woman, not wanting to interrupt her, figuring this was the best she could do for her former best friend. As much as she wanted to comfort the woman, to reach out and touch her, she refrained from doing so.

"If I hadn't handled it so poorly, I could have done something. I could have stopped him from firing again. I could have tried to stop the bullet from hitting her. Or stopped him from leaving. I don't even know how he knew, but I..."

As the CEO trailed off, Kara finally noticed the few silent tears making their way down the woman's cheeks. She may not know what had happened, or what was going on, but she didn't dare push the CEO any farther, simply choosing to remain silent.

"She's your daughter, Kara. Our daughter."

* * *

**LENA**

The steady sound of the heart monitor beeping was oddly calming.

But the CEO had always found constant, barely there background noises calming. When she was young, before her birth mother had passed away, she had found the quiet humming of an old Irish ballad from her mother calming. Growing up the Luthors, her calming noise had been hiding out in Lionel's home office, listening to the sound of papers being shuffled repeatedly.

As an adult, the CEO had found solace in the same sounds, which is why she preferred to have paperwork filed by hand instead of electronically. As much as a pain that it was, doing paperwork was soothing after a long day or dealing with unruly board members who thought she was running the company into the ground.

And while the steady beeping of the heart monitor was indeed calming, it was also increasingly causing more and more tension inside the woman's body.

In less than twenty-four hours, she had gone from making sure she had cut off ties with everyone she thought she could trust to being completely tied to them all by this. In less than twenty-four hours, the CEO of a multi-billion-dollar company went from being alone to coming to the understanding that she had a family in the distant future.

And that thought alone terrified her.

Not many things did. After all the attempts on her life by fellow competitors, aliens and even her own family members, Lena like to think of herself as basically bulletproof in the best way possible. Not in the way in which her former best friend was, but because she has successfully constructed and protected the walls around her heart. Too many times had they been broken down, too many times she had been hurt. She thought the betrayal of her friends would be the last time, the event that would allow her to harden her heart completely, but it seems she was mistaken.

Because here she was attempting to reign in control of the emotions threatening to break out of her carefully constructed fort of a heart. Fear. Guilt. Sadness. Heartbreaking sadness. Confusion. And oddly enough, happiness. Happiness that she hadn't been wrong all those times she thought her and her best friend were simply more than just friends. On some level, that satisfied Lena. She hadn't blindly jumped into her friendship with Kara, hoping and praying that her feelings would be returned. But then again, she had. And it had caused her a great deal of pain.

Sitting here, in the DEO, her eyes darting over her daughter's unconscious form- her and _Kara's_ daughter's unconscious form, Lena was coming to the conclusion that she might not be as bulletproof as she thought.

"She still out?"

The sudden voice in the otherwise silent room caused the CEO to jump, her attention pulling from her daughter's form and towards the owner of said voice. The superhero was casually standing in the doorway of the room, looking a little worse for ware in the CEO's opinion. Since revealing the identity and the events that lead her here to the DEO, Kara had taken off almost immediately afterwards, without a word to anyone. It had been at least a few hours or so since then, and Lena couldn't help but wonder where the blonde had escaped to.

"Yes. But Alex seems to think she'll wake soon."

The blonde superhero nodded, awkwardly stepping further into the room and taking a seat in the empty chair on the opposite side of the bed the CEO was on. "Good. That's...that's good."

Raising an eyebrow, Lena watched as the alien fidgeted in her seat, cautiously glancing over their daughter's form a few times before eyeing the room around them. It was obvious that the woman was feeling a little over-whelmed with the information that had been presented to her, and was struggling to figure out a way to cope with it.

"Where did you go?"

Blue eyes automatically locked onto Lena's, and the CEO had to reign in the slight thundering of her heart at the sight of those baby blues looking ten times bluer than the sky. "What?"

"Earlier. After you found about her. You just left. Where did you go?"

Lena had been prepared for most answers. Like the blonde flying around National City to clear her head, punching something, even back to her own apartment to try and think things over. But she wasn't prepared for what the blonde had actually said. "I, uh, actually went to speak with my mother."

Confused, the CEO frowned slightly, surely she had misunderstood the Kryptonian. Or she simply meant that she had went to speak with her adopted mother? Because as far as she knew, Kara's mother was dead, like the rest of Krypton.

As if the superhero could hear the thoughts running through her head, the blonde let out a sigh. "It'a an AI. When my parents put me into the pod before Krypton exploded, she programmed the AI to take her image with the knowledge of Krypton so it could live on. Sometimes...when I feel a little overwhelmed, I go speak to her. I'll ask her to recreate the night sky on Krypton and just...lay there looking at everything. It helps clear my head."

"It must have been beautiful."

Despite the sadness that had taken over the blonde's face while talking about everything she had lost, the CEO watched as a small smile appeared on the hero's face. "It was. I'm sorry I just disappeared. I just needed a moment."

"You're allowed to need a moment, Kara. Don't apologize for feeling overwhelmed."

"There are a lot of things I need to apologize for."

Feeling the familiar ache that had taken up residence in her chest following the unveiling of her best friend as Supergirl, Lena cleared her throat, breaking eye contact with the blonde and forcing herself to bottle everything up again. "Now is not the time to talk about such things."

"But Lena, I need to-."

"Please. Just don't. Not right now, Kara."

At that, the CEO watched the hero visibly deflate a little, standing from her chair. "I'm going to go check in with Alex. Let me know when she wakes up?"

Not trusting her voice, because the sight of the hero looking so completely defeated was killing her on the inside, Lena nodded. She wanted nothing more than to gather the blonde into her arms and tell her that all was forgiven. That they would be okay. But she couldn't. Not yet. She was still broken, nursing her own wounds. Any type of reconciliation would only end with more people getting more hurt than they already were.

A few minutes passed since the Kryptonian disappeared out of the medical wing with a swoosh of her cape when Lena noticed the slight spike in the heartbeat on the monitor. After quickly tapping the call button that Alex had instructed her to use should something happen, the CEO let out a sigh of relief when the girl's eyes fluttered open.

Now that she had time to think about it, she should have noticed it from the beginning. There was no denying that the girl in front of her was her daughter. Looking at her was almost like staring at an old picture from her childhood, save for the girl's blue eyes that were now looking at her in confusion. They were so much like Kara's it was unnerving.

"Are you okay?"

Ali nodded, reaching a hand up to barely touch the spot where she had been shot. "I'm good. It was just a gun shot wound. No big deal."

The CEO tried to calm herself down, but the overwhelming sense of fear that she'd felt the moment she watched her daughter being shot, to using as much force has necessary to try and stop the blood from seeping from her daughter's wound, and every moment since had managed to break through her emotionless facade. "No big deal? You were on the floor of my R&D department _bleeding_! I had to bring you here to the DEO because I was so afraid you weren't going to make it. Don't you ever scare me like that again!"

The girl flinched slightly, gently pushing herself into a sitting position. "Yes ma'am."

A knock on the doorframe interrupted the brief moment of motherly concern the CEO felt, and Lena was thankful for Alex choosing that moment to appear. Another moment longer and the CEO felt as though she was fixing to drop off the edge. But the agent's presence in the room was welcomed, and not only on her part, as Lena watched her daughter's face light up slightly.

"Aunt Alex!"

The agent was apparently having a much easier time accepting everything, as she smiled briefly herself before stepping into the room. "That's going to take some getting used to. How are you feeling?"

"Good. I'm pretty much completely healed. Just still feeling the aftershocks of the Kryptonite."

The redhead nodded, snatching the tablet off the counter before scrolling through it. "There are still trace amounts in your system. It will take about twenty-four hours for the effects to wear off. At least, we're basing that off what we already know about Kryptonian DNA. Does your human DNA affect anything?"

"Not really. The kryptonite just affects my powers and everything. But it won't take near as long for it to flush out of my system as it does Mom's. Give it a few hours and I'll be perfectly fine."

Before Alex could respond, Lena noticed her daughter's attention had shifted from her aunt back towards the door. And it didn't take Lena's genius mind to recognize the shift in the room's atmosphere as she watched her former best friend and daughter lock eyes for the first time.

"Jeju. I can explain."


	6. Family Meeting

Ch:6

KARA

Nothing could have quite prepared the Kryptonian for that moment.

After spending so many years in the cold void of the phantom zone, arriving on Earth and learning everything all over again, the history and languages of this world, being the only one with memories of Krypton...Kara had come to terms with the idea that all of Krypton and its legacies would die with her.

Sure, Kal was a Kryptonian. He wore the House of El symbol just like she did, shared the same powers, the same heritage. But he had never experienced Krypton or its customs. He never had the chance to feel Rao's light shine down on him, or could understand much Kryptonese. He was raised on Earth, and was more human than alien, despite his super charged genes.

So hearing the Kryptonian word for mother fall so easily and fluently from her future daughter, Krypton's next generation, it had completely knocked the breath out of Kara.

Because Krypton wasn't dead. It was living on. Within her and her daughter.

"Kara. Are you alright?"

Blinking to clear her eyes of the unshed tears, the alien cleared her throat, realizing that everyone in the room was looking at her with concerned expressions. "No. I mean yes. I'm fine. I just...I wasn't expecting to be called that."

Her daughter's expression changed quickly, her eyes widening slightly. "Right. Sorry. Force of habit. I wasn't thinking. I can call you Kara if that's easier?"

"No! No it's not...you can call me Jeju. It just took me by surprise. I've never heard anyone else speak Kryptonese in so long..."

The hero trailed off, her mind automatically wandering back to the exact time and instance she had heard her native language spoken to her. It was as her mother and father were loading her into her pod, promising that they would always be with her.

"As much as I hate to interrupt this moment, and I really do, but I think everyone in this room, who is from this current timeline, would like to know why exactly you're here?"

Shaking herself of past memories and nightmares, the hero nodded, glancing between her sister and her daughter. "Right. Not that I'm _not_ excited that you're here, I am! I mean I never even thought I'd have children and here you are. Sitting right in front of me. And you're perfect and I...am rambling. Sorry."

Feeling the blush rising on her cheeks, the Kryptonian cleared her throat, not missing the smiles that appeared on everyone's faces. Even Lena's.

"I suppose you all are wondering exactly what I am here, and I'd be more than happy to fill you all in on everything, but can we do it somewhere other than the med bay? And with everyone present, so I don't have to repeat myself over and over again?"

* * *

ALI

After listening for the sound of the door latch closing, I cleared my throat, leaning back in my seat to try and get as comfortable as I could with the healing wound on my shoulder. Even with superheating, it hurt like hell and thankfully I'd only have to deal with it for another few hours before it would finally subside and heal completely.

Taking a glance around the room, I tried to take in this moment as best as I could. Seeing so many faces here together, for the first time in so long was somewhat of a shock to the system. However, there was no denying that everyone in this room was family to me, and this undisturbed time in their lives was something I wanted to engrave into my mind forever. I wanted to remember this moment.

"So…I guess I should start back to basically the beginning of everything. I'm from the year 2039. National City isn't the same as it used to be. Mostly because, well, Jeju and Uncle Clark are dead."

I was expecting the immodest rise of voices speaking over each other. And knowing that this piece of information was going to be the hardest to digest, I decided to stay quiet and let it sink in as a thousand and one questions were thrown in my directions and concerns were aired as well.

"Okay, guys!"

The voices stopped almost immediately, allowing for me to pull myself up in my chair so that I was leaning my one uninjured arm on the table. "I will explain it all, okay? But you all need to know that the reason why I am here is to keep that from happening this time."

"There's a woman, who used to work for CADMUS and under Lex while he was still operating Luthor Corp. She was his chief research officer in his biological warfare against Superman. In this time, she now works in L-Corp's R&D department, but under a different name that Lex gave her after he went…crazy."

Almost all the eyes in the room automatically went towards my mother, the accusing looks not being lost on my end. Of course many would believe that she had something to do with this, especially right now and after everything that had just happened. But the tension that filled to room had me on edge. I could already hear the accusations starting to bubble out of people's mouths, but before I could say anything, Kara had slammed her hand down on the table top, just hard enough to cause it to crack slightly. "No. I know what you're all thinking, but Lena had nothing to do with this. She couldn't have."

My aunt scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest as she glared up at my mother. "And you're just expecting us to believe that everything that happened _didn't_? Kara, she used kryptonite on you! She can't be trusted!"

There had been plenty of times that I'd seen my mother angry enough to warrant a fear reaction from myself. The first time had been when I was younger, before I could understand the concept of powers and my mother's job a hero. I'd been taken, from someone stupid enough to issue a ransom for my return. And when my mother had found me, I remember her eyes lighting up in anger. It was the first time I'd ever been scared of her. Until she'd taken me into her arms after dealing with my kidnappers, and then all fear had disappeared. Now, though, I knew my aunt was testing my mother's patience. I could see it in the way she was holding herself, the way her shoulders were tensed. It caused in involuntary shiver to run through me. My aunt may be dumb enough to poke the sleeping bear, but I wasn't.

"Enough, Alex! I am not having this conversation with you. Not here. Not now. Not ever!"

Reaching over, I placed my hand over my mother's, which was fisted against the cracked table top. This was getting out of hand too quick. "Aunt Alex, Jeju is right. Mom had nothing to do with this."

Once everyone had finally backed off to both mine and Kara's liking, I let out a sigh, trying to carefully decide what information I should give to them as I eyed my mother sitting across the table from me. Despite the woman being able to carefully place up any type of façade, I could always see through them. I knew very little about what happened during this particular pice of time. It wasn't something neither of my mothers were very comfortable talking about, but I knew enough to know that despite the cold, hard look on my mother's face, it hurt her that everyone could so easily place the blame on her shoulders. Again.

"Her name is Maria Brice. She helped Lex with trying to find a way to subdue Clark's Kryptonian DNA, to turn him human long enough for Lex to kill him. But it didn't work, obviously. Instead, Lex managed to find a way to combine human and Kryptonian DNA."

"His agenda then changed to create the perfect superhuman, one he could control and use to take down Superman. But he went crazy before he could finish, and I shut down that project when I took over the company. That file is locked, no one should be able to get into it."

Nodding at my mother's words, I took a deep breath, not knowing how well the group was going to react to the next bit of information. "Brice has all of Lex's original research in computer terminal outside of L-Corp's research lab. She's going to bring that research in, and she's going to finish it without consent."

"Finish it? You mean she succeeds in making a superhuman hybrid _thing_?"

Flinching slightly at the wordage, I nodded. "Yes."

Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as a flash of realization settled on my mother's face, and the usually stoic CEO slump down in her chair. "You were created."

"Yes."

After a few moments of silence, where I'm sure everyone was attempting to process this new bit of information, I placed my bag up on the table. "To make a long story short, Brice gets fired, loses everything, goes crazy and makes the device that ends up killing Jeju and Clark. It's something Lex was already working on, and it's camped out in one of his old labs somewhere. I have the maps of all of Lex's places, I just don't know which one it is. I also have whatever information I could grab on Brice and the device. We need to find it and destroy it."

"Okay, so let's get to it."

"There's only one problem. Brice knows that I'm here, that's why those guys had Kryptonite bullets. And it's only a matter of time before she shows up herself. And if she comes, she's bring tech from the future. And the device itself."


	7. Conversations On Rooftops

**Hey, guys! Really enjoyed writing this chapter! I wanted to focus on Ali and Kara bonding in this chapter, so that's what I decided to do. I'll probably have at least one more chapter where Ali will have some mother/daughter moments with both women before we get into the heavy stuff and meet the antagonist of this story. I also realized that I completely forgot that J'onn stepped down from the DEO and that Alex is in charge, but I don't think that I made it that obvious in the past chapters and I fixed it in this one. If it messes with whatever I wrote before, oh well. I'm too lazy to go back and fix that. Lol. I also have figured out that my style works a lot better in third person with this particular story, so I'm going to stick with third person perspective for the majority of this story. There might be a few first person later on, I'm not sure yet. **

**I'm really excited that a lot of people are liking this story so far. And I'm really looking forward to going on this journey with you all. So bare with me as I get these chapters out to you when I can. Let me know what you all think!**

**-Commander**

* * *

Ch:7

Ali

"Alright, you all have your orders. I want any messages from Ms. Luthor to come straight through to me. Understood?"

Everyone in the room dispersed following Alex's quick debriefing the morning after Ali finished filling everyone in. Surprisingly enough, everyone seemed to be okay with the information she'd given out. And there had been a lot of curveballs thrown by the young Kryptonian, and she couldn't quite figure out if everyone was truly okay with what they'd learned or if they were just putting on a brave face. It wouldn't surprise her anyway, that's how her family handled most things.

Ali could remember her first time meeting everyone following her discovery at L-Corp. The day before her mothers had explained the situation to their friends and family, and everyone seemed to be excited to meet the young Kryptonian, despite her origins and sudden existence within the group. Of course over the years Ali had learned that each family member had promptly freaked out when she wasn't around until they all grew accustomed to her presence. Ali had only been three at the time, but it was one of the few things she remembered about the start of her new life. It had been fairly awkward then and she didn't expect any difference now.

"Hey, you okay?"

Shaking herself from her thoughts, Ali turned to see her mother striding over from her spot by the main computers, her cape lifting lightly around her mother as she stepped and creating a moment that Ali hoped to never forget should she fail at fixing the future. Her mother looked young and full of life, exactly how she remembered her. It was refreshing and warming to be around the hero once more. "Yeah, I was just thinking about everything. Do you think they're going to be able to find something in L-Corp's files to get us access to Brice's personal files?"

The blonde nodded, coming to stop a few feet in front of the younger Kryptonian. "I have hope that we will. Although I don't think Lena's too keen on waiting around instead of getting the files herself."

Ali chuckled slightly at the recent memory of her mother's annoyed face at being told she couldn't simply hack into L-Corp's employee files and find whatever encrypted folder held the answers to everything they needed to know. Thankfully she had understood that they needed to go about this the right way, a simple diagnostic run down on all the servers to find anything out of place. Apparently there hadn't been once since the woman had taken over as CEO. Lena had said she never felt the need to do one. She wanted to trust her employees and keep that trust, unlike her brother who had implemented the diagnostics in order to see who was feeding information from inside the company. Lena had wanted differently for her employees, expected differently. But apparently some things her brother did had their justifications, after all the CEO was only doing this to try and find the files on whatever device would be the cause of so much destruction in the future.

"No doubt she's sitting in her office pouting until she finds something. How long did she say it would take again?"

The hero sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. "About a day or so. And until she finds something, we have to make ourselves busy. By the way, where did you sleep last night?"

The younger Kryptonian nodded her head in the general direction of the DEO's bunker. "Here. I figured crashing at someone's place was a little much after the bombs I've dropped on everyone recently. Plus I was up pretty late getting Alex everything I had on Brice. I didn't want to bother anybody."

Feeling a hand on her shoulder, the younger Kryptonian looked up to see her mother frowning slightly at her, a serious look on her face. "You're not bothering anyone, kid. You're family. And you're staying at my place now. I don't have an extra bed, but my couch is pretty comfy. It's better than staying here at the DEO."

Nodding, Ali looked away from her mother's eyes, not being able to stop the feeling of relief from washing through her system. Everything she had said was true. She didn't want to be a burden to her family members, but she was glad to be out of the DEO. She'd spent her fair share of time here, and of course it wasn't the same, but being back in such a stale, lab-like environment reminded the girl too much of her life before she met her mothers. Of her seemingly endless time being a lab rat underneath Brice's cruel and always watching eye. A couch sounded much better than reliving all those memories.

Letting out a light puff of breath, Ali smiled back up at her mother. "Sounds like a deal. What's the plan for the rest of the day then?"

"Nothing, really. My article isn't due for another week, so I don't have to make an appearance at CatCo today. Why?"

The young Kryptonian smiled slightly, gesturing over her shoulder towards the open balcony. "Wanna race?"

Kara knew the repercussions of the public seeing her flying around with another Kryptonian. But the thought of spending time with her _daughter_, the legacy of her people was much too tempting. So with an equal smirk that matched the one her daughter was wearing, the hero nodded. "Sure. But only if your shoulder is good to go. And we have to stay high enough so no one notices you."

The younger girl nodded excitedly, rolling her shoulder to make a point at showing her full dexterity. "Completely healed. First one to the top of L-Corp is a rotten egg!"

With a rush of air, Ali was up and out of the DEO, soaring high above the bustling city below her. She faintly heard her mother's light laughter before the blonde superhero was flying alongside of her.

It was such a freeing moment for Ali. Being able to fly, once again, alongside her mother. She hadn't used her powers much lately, both at her other mother's request and because using them always seemed to leave Ali in a funk. Flying, racing through the city, had been something her mother had done with her once she'd gotten control of her powers. It was a way that they'd bonded, out of the prying eyes of the public and where they didn't have to pretend that they were human. Only her mother understood what that felt like.

In the past few years following the superhero's death it was just easier to act human. It didn't hurt as much. And the public didn't need another hero, so she'd hung up her own suit hidden in a secret compartment alongside her mother's own spares. She hadn't seen it in almost a year.

Soon enough, the two Kryptonians landed with a light thud on the roof of L-Corp, both laughing as they playfully argued over who had been faster.

Below them, the sounds of the city could be easily heard. Honking horns of cars stuck in traffic. The chatter of people going on about their lives. The laughter of children playing.

"Can I ask you something?"

Ali nodded, taking a seat on the edge of the roof next to her mother, watching the people walk back and fourth through the L-Corp lobby. "Knock yourself out."

Kara hesitated, not wanting to push too heavy with the topic. She wasn't exactly sure what the protocol was when it came to revealing too much about the future. She didn't want to risk changing anything. Or at least more than it had by the girl's presence in this timeline. She also didn't want to pressure the girl to answer the questions that had been swirling through the hero's head since the girl's explanation yesterday. "How…how old are you…when you come to us?"

Ali let out a sigh, knowing that sooner or later she would have to answer these questions. She certainly didn't expect to just show up, give a vague story about why she was there and that be the end of it. She owed them as many answers as she could provide, after all.

"I was about three and a half when Mom found me. Almost four, maybe? I'm not entirely sure. Young enough to be able to forget some things, but old enough to remember most of it."

"So you remember then? Before us?"

Nodding, the young girl tore her eyes away from the city below her and instead turned her attention towards the endless expanse of the sky. "Most of it, yes. And to answer your next question, no. It wasn't…ideal living. But I'm not going into any more details than that. I can't risk changing the future too much."

"I'm sorry."

Frowning, Ali glanced over at her mother, confused by the look of sadness and concern written all over the hero's face. "Why are you apologizing? It wasn't your fault I was there. And it definitely wasn't you who…I never blamed you guys for any of that. You don't have to feel guilty about it. Now or in the future."

Knowing that her daughter's words wouldn't take away the feeling of guilt bubbling inside her chest, Kara chose to just not respond.

Diving into her daughter's past hadn't been her intentions when the girl had suggested the two of them spending time together. She was ecstatic to get to know the young girl sitting next to her. Having a family was one of the few things Kara thought she'd get to experience on this world, between her duties as Supergirl and the lack of a love life. It seemed almost impossible to her until now.

"Alright, enough of the heavy stuff. What do you do for fun?"

Ali smiled, thankful that her mother had moved on to a lighter topic before settling into a light conversation while the sounds of the city continued below them.


	8. Almost There

**Hey, guys! Been kind of on a roll with this story and I somehow managed to shell out another chapter last night and this morning. **

**This chapter was both exciting and hard to write. I know I've revealed a little about Ali's past and how she came about, but this chapter goes a little farther into it. And the next chapter will pretty much give you all any answers to any questions you may have about Ali. With that in mind, I'm going to go ahead and give this a warning. There are mentions of self-harm in this chapter and there will be even more mentions of it in the next chapter, along with mentions of violence and abuse and all of that stuff. If that's going to bother you, I would probably skip over this chapter and the next. **

**But, on the brighter side, we're getting to see some more of motherly Lena in this chapter and the next. And also we're getting just a tiny bit of Supercorp in this chapter as well. **

**Anyway, let me know what you guys think. **

**-Commander **

* * *

Ch:8

By the end of the day Lena had managed to finally find the few encrypted files of Lex's experiments with an unnamed associate from inside the company. And after sending a copy of the unlocked files over to Alex, the CEO let out a sigh of frustration as she stood from her desk to walk the floor of her office in an attempt to work out some of the stiffness from where she'd been sitting for most of the day.

The files that she'd been originally looking for wasn't the only thing uncovered during the day's search. The woman had uncovered plenty of things in Lex's secret past that had left a sour taste in her mouth. Multiple lost blueprints of Lex's weapons that had failed in his attempts to defeat Superman, personal things he used to blackmail many of his associates into doing his bidding and others that Lena didn't even want to think back on.

But what really had shaken the usually well composed young woman was the early files she had been looking for and found, files that Lex had labeled KR-113. The, apparent, early works of what would eventually bring her daughter about and the darkest secret that Lex had been able to keep during his reign of terror.

All of the work Brice and her brother had completed, and failed at, was included in those files. Accounts of various "life forms" that had been an attempt to become the ultimate weapon to use against the Kryptonians, all ending in either of two ways. The weapon either failed to make it past the early stages of life or failed to live up to the expectations her brother had and was promptly…terminated.

That word alone had sent a harsh shiver down the young CEO's spine and she stopped reading past that point. There had been no use looking further, torturing herself with any more knowledge of what had taken place right before her eyes and she'd failed to notice any of it.

Thankfully the work had ended right around the time of Lex's downfall, and all that was left of it was the forgotten files hid in the back servers of L-Corp, so carefully hidden that even Lena herself had looked over them more than once herself.

Her bother had failed to create his weapon, but Lena herself knew that eventually it would work. The young girl she'd met just the day before was proof of that, and it was slowly eating at the CEO that she hadn't found any of Brice's side-work with the experiment. Ali had said that most of the actual work had taken place outside of the L-Corp labs, but now Lena would forever be on edge…waiting until she discovered her daughter's existence sometime in the near future, knowing what she knew and not being able to change any of it.

And it was with this information that Lena had guessed that whatever methods Lex had used to "terminate" his experiments was most likely the origins of whatever device had been used in the future to wipe out Supergirl and Superman. After all, he brother had been successful at being able to kill something half Kryptonian. Obviously whatever device Brice was hell bent on making, it's underlying plans would be in those files. All of this she had relayed to Alex.

A sudden knock at her balcony door had the CEO out of her thoughts and finding the very thing that occupied her thoughts hovering slightly just above the balcony floor as she opened the door just enough for the girl to stick her head in. "Sorry. I'm not bothering you, am I?"

"No, I was just…thinking."

Ali slipped in through the door, closing it gently behind her before leaning on the glass as she looked over her mother. Obviously shehad interrupted _something_. The girl had been hovering outside her mother's office for the better part of an hour now, ever since she heard the slight peak in her mother's heartbeat that had prompted her to come check on everything. She had watched the woman read through the files and it was causing her obvious distress, but Ali didn't want to push the topic. She understood that all of this must be confusing to her parents, her sudden appearance in their life and all of this new information just being dumped in their laps. Honestly if it had been up to Ali to choose a timeline to come to, it would have been when her parents were actually _together_. However she hadn't been able to choose, as she needed to be here before Brice could accomplish everything.

"It's getting pretty late. Alex said they were going to go over all of the files you found tomorrow at the DEO. I figured you would have already been back at home by now."

Lena cleared her throat, walking over to shut off her computer before the girl could see what was on the screens, picking up her purse from where it was hanging on the coat rack behind her desk. "I hadn't realized how late it had gotten. I think I'm actually going to head home now. What are you doing here anyway?"

Ali shrugged, not exactly sure how to explain her appearance at this time without giving away that she'd been basically spying on her mother. "I saw the lights on from Jeju's place. Wanted to make sure you were alright before I went to bed."

"Kara's apartment is ten blocks from here. How did you see the lights on?"

The young Kryptonian gestured to her face lightly. "Super powers, remember? I have all the basic powers as Jeju. Flight. Strength. Hearing. Sight and others."

The CEO stopped halfway through taking her keys out of her purse, slightly exasperated by the thought of her daughter having powers. Sure she'd just seen the girl hovering outside her office, but other than that she hadn't had a chance to see her daughter use her powers yet. It suddenly reminded her that her daughter was only half of her, and half alien. Half of her former best friend.

That thought alone caused the woman's stomach to clench uncomfortably. She hadn't been lying when she told Kara she wasn't ready to talk yet. Her wounds were still fresh and open, and she'd spent a great deal of time trying to go about her daily life in the past couple of months knowing that she'd been lied to and betrayed by someone she once trusted completely. Only for all of it to be basically slapped back in her face full force with her daughter being here, proving to the CEO that she wouldn't be able to fully escape her issues. That this was going to be quiet difficult until she eventually moved past them.

"Uh, anyway. I just wanted to check in. I guess I'll head back to Jeju's place. I'll see you tomorrow?"

Shaking her head of her thoughts, Lena forced a smile to her face. "Yes. I will see you tomorrow. Have a good night."

With slightly awkward movements, the girl retreated back the balcony, glancing over her shoulder worriedly before disappearing into the night sky and leaving Lena to let out another frustrated sigh.

She knew she was acting rather cold towards her daughter. It wasn't her intention to do so, but it had been a long couple of days. And the CEO wanted nothing more than to just go home and process everything how she usually did. With a bottle of whiskey.

Which is exactly what the CEO decided she was going to do as she dropped her keys back into her purse and made her way over to her well stocked mini bar in her office, picking up the crystal decanter and pouring herself a hefty amount into a glass before she retook her seat at her desk.

She drank her way through everything she was feeling in regards to Kara and her friends, her hurt and betrayal that she'd been keeping close to her person. She drank through her mourning of the person her brother used to be, through the madness that has taken him from her and led him down the path that left so many casualties. She drank for her daughter, who's life had been created for the sole purpose of destruction and for the years she knew she'd be alone until Lena would be able to find her. She drank because her choice of becoming a mother was being forced without her even knowing. She drank because she knew nothing about being a mother, and feared that eventually she would share the same relationship with Ali that her and Lillian do. She drank because she was madly in love with her best friend and she had finally accepted that.

* * *

Earlier than she would have preferred it, the CEO was dutifully up and being patted down at the DEO's entrance bright and early the next morning.

Per Alex'a request, she wanted to get a early head start on figuring out how exactly they were going to get Brice to reveal herself. They had all the information they needed at the moment, and everyone was crunching the numbers on what type of device they needed to be on the lookout for. Which meant they'd diving more in depth into Lex's files and that was something that Lena defiantly didn't want to partake in any more than she already had.

Most of her night had been spent trying not to think about the things she had read, but her sleep had been haunted by pictures of small children being brought down at the hands of her brother. So it was safe to say that the CEO had gotten very little sleep the night before and was nursing a rather horrible headache from the whiskey she consumed.

"You look horrible."

Turning to glare at the blonde, Lena dropped her purse and coat into an empty chair in the same meeting room they all hat met in a few days ago. "Thank you, Kara. Just what every woman wants to hear."

The hero winced slightly, fumbling with her glasses as she glanced down at the floor and away from the angry face of her best friend. "Sorry. That's not what I meant…it's just you look really tired and like you haven't slept well. I was just worried about you."

Taking a calming breath, the CEO sat down in the chair next to her things, directly across the table from the blonde. "No. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. Your guesses would be true. I had a terrible time sleeping last night, but I shouldn't have taken that out on you."

Kara was surprised by the apology. There had been little to no interaction between the two of them in months. And if there was, one was always on the defense and snapping at the other one. The obvious rift in their friendship was evident, but this had been the first time in a while that they were speaking amicably to each other.

"Oh. I'm sorry. Is everything okay?"

The raven haired woman shrugged a shoulder, tracing an unseen pattern on the table top with one finger. "Have you read any of the files I found on Lex yet?"

With a grim nod of the blonde's head, Lena let out a tired sigh, her finger stalling its movements. "I've just been having a hard time processing everything. Between Ali just…appearing out of nowhere, reading through all of the horrible things my brother did."

After a moment of watching the different emotions flash across the CEO's face, Kara caught one particular look that she had hoped to never see on the woman's face again. Too many times had Kara watched Lena's last name drag her down into a mind space that no one should ever have to occupy.

Reaching across the table, the hero tentatively placed her hand over the CEO's, relieved when it wasn't jerked away immediately. "You know it's okay to feel overwhelmed, right? That everything you're feeling is valid and Lex's madness has nothing to do with you. You're not your family, Lena."

This certainly wasn't how the raven haired woman had imagined this morning going. In fact, if someone had told her yesterday that she'd be sitting in a room alone with Kara, while Kara was holding her hand and comforting her, she'd laugh at them.

As much as Lena wanted to keep holding on to her anger towards the blonde, the other woman was equally reminding her why she'd let the hero into her life to begin with. Never had Lena encountered someone with so much faith in her. Even after all the things she'd done, some of that to Kara herself, it never seemed to waver.

"Thank you, Kara."

The door to the conference room opened, forcing Kara to quickly remove her hand and readjust her glasses on her nose as she smiled at her sister. "Hey, what's up?"

The director pointed down the hall behind her where a few angels in tactical gear were walking towards. "Brainy thinks they've got an idea of what we're looking for. We just need Ali to confirm it and then after we're heading over to pick Brice up for questioning."

Lena stood, smoothing out non existent wrinkles in her skirt. "I will go grab Ali and meet you guys back here. I need to speak with her anyway."

"Alright. She was in the training room last time I saw her."

Without another word, the CEO swiftly made her way towards the last place her daughter had been seen. Sure enough, Alex had been right. Before she even made it to the door, Lena could hear music and the distinct sound of a fist connecting with something hard.

Slipping through the closed door as quietly as she could, the woman took notice of the small tablet built into the wall. On it read a rather high concentrated amount of Kryptonite, and the room was steadily pulsating a light green color. It didn't take a genius to understand that using Kryptonite must have been something Kara and their daughter use to dampen their powers enough for them to achieve a real workout.

Ignoring the voice in the back of her mind that scolded her for calling Ali _their_ daughter, the CEO watched as the girl across the room repeatedly landed punch after punch on a stray piece of metal that must have only belonged to the Kryptonians for their personal use. There were plenty of dents already littered across the metal's surface, and despite the Kryptonite in the room, Ali was creating deep enough dents that left the CEO wincing and rubbing her own knuckles absentmindedly.

"Aren't you supposed to wrap your knuckles before punching something?"

Lena had to practically shout over the loud music for her daughter to hear her. And if the CEO had any doubts of the girl's other lineage it was gone in the instant that her daughter hurriedly spun around, her foot catching itself on the carpeted area used to catch sweat and forcing the girl to tumble to the floor with a squeak. It was such a Kara thing to do that it had her chuckling slightly.

Ali pulled the remote out of her sweat pocket, pausing the music as she sat up on her hind legs to look at her mother, who was looking at her with amusement dancing across her features. "Hi. How long have you been standing there?"

"Not very long, a minute or two at the most."

Pushing herself up to her feet, the girl brushed her hair out of her face, giving the CEO a quick glance at the bloody knuckles the girl was sporting. "Oh. Did you need something?"

"Brainy thinks they have a pretty good idea of what Brice's device is and they're wanting you to confirm it. How much Kryptonite do you usually use during your workout?"

The girl shrugged, walking over to tap the screen next to her mother, the green glow disappearing from the room. "Why?"

As Ali started past her, Lena reached out, grabbing a hold of one of the girl's hands and inspecting the cuts with a frown. "You were hitting that metal pretty hard."

Removing her hand from its scrutiny, Ali tucked it into the pockets of her sweat pants. "It's fine. I do it all the time."

"You purposely hurt yourself all the time?"

Rolling her eyes, the young Kryptonian pushed past her mother and into the hall, ignoring the older woman's presence behind her. Leave it to her mother to take a bid deal out of nothing. "It's not like _that_."

"That's exactly what it looks and sounds like."

Stopping just before they reached the main level of the DEO, out of sight of everyone else, Ali stopped to turn to look at her mother. "Can you lecture about this later and not in front of everyone, _please_?"

Narrowing her eyes at her, Lena relented. "Fine. But don't think you've escaped this discussion, young lady."

Despite knowing she was going to have to sit through another one of her mother's long lectures later, and explain some difficult things to her, Ali was slightly amused by the woman's tone. Yesterday she had been cold and distant, which is how Ali had expected her mother to react to her presence in this time. This Lena wasn't her mother just yet, but it warmed her slightly to see just a little bit of that motherly side of the woman coming out. "Yes, ma'am."


	9. Secrets

**Annnd, yet again I just couldn't stop writing. So here's another chapter. Consider it an early Christmas present. Lol.**

**Again, it never fails to amaze me how much love this story is getting. I seriously had my doubts about this story when I first started it. I never attempted to write a Supercorp story because I was afraid I would never be able to do the ship justice. But apparently I must be doing something right. **

**As I stated in the last chapter: THERE IS MENTION OF SELF HARM AND ABUSE IN THIS CHAPTER. DO NOT READ IF IT'S GOING TO UPSET YOU, PLEASE.**

**Enjoy. -Commander **

* * *

Ch: 9

She shouldn't be this nervous.

At least, not with her mother. Of all the people in her life, her mother had been one of the few she ever felt comfortable sharing everything with. Or almost everything. She liked to think that she shared pretty good relationships with both of her parents, most likely because both of her mothers had such terrible past experiences with their family members and had made sure Ali never had to go through any of that.

So, Ali wondered, why was she currently standing on the edge of the roof of the building directly across from her mother's office at L-Corp, stalling for as long as she could before she had to make the short trek over?

She'd left the DEO not long after confirming to Brainy and the others that the 3-D model he'd put together based off Lex's files was almost identical to the device Brice used in the fight against her mother and Superman. The only flaw in their plan was that the device required a biometric sample to start up, and they needed to find Brice before she could alter the device from Lex's DNA to hers. Or so she had told them.

Ali was quite aware of the wild goose chase she was sending her family on. The small tidbits of information she was leaving out and the false leads she was handing out. She knew everything about the device they were looking for…a device that wasn't of any concern in this timeline. Not yet at least. They had a good few years before Brice would even start her own versions of the experiments, before Ali's existence could even be thought of, let alone before anyone needed to worry about the device.

She just needed the time for her plan to work itself out.

Against the better judgment of her family, especially her mother, she had went behind their backs to send herself back to a timeline a few years before Brice had created her. She had calculated it this way to make sure that her mother's death could be prevented in the future, to make sure that the_ others _wouldn't be destroyed during her phase of the experiments completely, without the risk of someone else picking up where others had left off.

No. Ali didn't come here to stop Brice from making just the doomsday device. She was here to make sure that Brice never had the chance to create _anything_.

Herself included.

In the building across from her, Ali could hear the sound of her mother's heels clicking against the floor of her office and let out a light sigh. Figuring that she might as well get this conversation with her mother over with, the young Kryptonian dropped off the edge of the building, quickly making her way through the sky until she reached the edge of the balcony.

The door was waiting open for her, and as she walked through into the office her mother only glanced up for a quick second before pointing towards the couch. "Sit."

Deciding to just do as she was told, Ali took a seat on the couch, running her hands over her knees as she waited for her mother to say something instead of doing what she was doing in that moment.

Her mother had this weird way of getting her to talk by simply staring at her. It had been the very bane of Ali's early teenage years, not being able to get away with anything after one pointed look from her mother. Jeju had always thought it was funny that she would crack so easily with her other mother, and on more than one occasion had she sent the younger girl through the same balcony door she'd just come through knowing that Lena would get her talking in a matter of minutes.

And it was almost disturbing to know that her mother had apparently always had that look, because it was the same look Ali was receiving now and it she suddenly felt the need to confess for something she didn't even know she had done.

"Did I ever tell you about what happened when I came to live with the Luthors?"

Surprised by the question, Ali shook her head. "Uh, not really. I mean, I know a little bit about it. But you never went into a lot of detail about that. Why?"

The CEO let out a sigh as she stood up from her desk, shrugging her blazer off her shoulders and giving her squirming daughter a break from her intimidating gaze. "There's a folder on the coffee table. Look through it."

Picking up the folder, Ali carefully folded it open on her lap, her eyes scanning over the various papers and notes, confusion bubbling in her mind. "What are these?"

The raven haired woman took a seat directly across from her daughter on the coffee table, smiling sadly as she was handed the papers the girl had already read through. "The first ten pages or so are any notes my therapist took when I was first adopted. After that, it's mostly just psychiatric doctors notes and some things I wrote while I was there."

Pausing when she'd come across the words 'danger to self', Ali glanced up at her mother. "You've never told me about this."

"I'm assuming that I don't know about your workout routines then?"

Blushing from embarrassment, the Kryptonian discarded the folder to the empty space on the couch next to her. "I didn't always do it. One day I just accidentally upped the amount of Kryptonite in the room and didn't realize it until I'd landed the first punch and almost broke my hand. It was a few months after Jeju…it was the first thing I'd felt in a while that wasn't sadness. And, I don't know, everything was always healed before I ever went back home. I didn't think it was that big of a deal."

Sure enough, the girl's knuckles were healed, save for the faint scars that ran across most of the girl's pale skin. Which confused the CEO. "You scar after an injury?"

Ali shrugged. "Side effect of being half human, I guess. I heal pretty quickly, but if an injury is bad enough it always leaves a scar."

"How many of these scars are from yourself?"

That was something Ali didn't want to answer. Not here or in the future. Her life before had always been a touchy subject amongst Ali and her mothers. She couldn't speak for them, but there were still some things that Ali when through that her mothers were still in the dark about. She'd filled them in on most of the important things as needed, but they rarely spoke of it, thankfully.

"Ali. Can you please answer my question?"

"Most of the ones on my hands and some on my arms are from my workouts."

"Are there others?"

Letting out a sigh, Ali crossed her arms over herself, leaning as far back into the couch as she could. "Can we please not talk about this anymore?"

"I think we need to, kid."

Getting slightly anxious at the thought of being forced to talk about everything, Ali narrowed her eyes. "No. We don't. It doesn't concern you. You're not even my mom in this time. Don't worry about it."

Seeing the brief moment of hurt flash across the older woman's features forced every ounce of annoyance out of the girl's system. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that. I'm just…I didn't give myself the other scars on purpose. They're from before I met you guys. It was part of the testing Brice ran on my healing factors."

"They forced you to hurt yourself?"

Ali was slightly concerned by the tone of voice her mother had asked that in. There had been a few times the girl had heard that voice, and only once had it been directed at her. That voice meant her usual level headed mother was about to become not-so-level headed. "It's fine, Mom. Please don't make a big deal about it."

"It is so a big deal! Does Kara know about this?"

"No! Please don't tell Jeju. It doesn't matter anymore. It's in the past and that's where it needs to stay. You of all people should know that revenge isn't a road anyone should travel on. I've moved on."

After a few minutes Ali could see some of the tension easing from her mother's posture, but her face still remained scowled slightly. "I won't tell her unless you want to. It's not for me to tell, anyway. But I'm not going to just put that knowledge behind me. There's a million and one things they did in that lab that pushes far beyond the realm of normality-."

"Like me?"

Deflating at her daughter's quiet question, Lena reached out, settling her hands over the girl's knees. "No. Not you. If anything, I'm sure you're quite possibly the only good thing that will come out of all of this."

"Just wait until my pre-teen years."

Chuckling slightly, the CEO removed one hand from her daughter's knee to gently brush a stray strand of hair that had fallen in front of the girl's face. "Funny. But my point is, you didn't deserve any of what happened to you. I can't even begin to fathom what you went through, but don't ever belittle yourself. I spent a majority of my life thinking I would never amount to the Luthor name and then another part running from it. I don't want you going to the same place I had to before I realized that despite everything I'd been through, it would all work out in the end. So don't doubt for one second that your existence is a mistake. And don't get too caught up in the past. You don't have to cause yourself pain."

There had always been a part of Ali that wondered if her mothers had taken her in because they felt they had to. They, obviously, hadn't intended for her to happen. Her parents weren't even together then. Having that unasked question answered and knowing what was going to be taking place rather soon made the girl's heart sink.

Not only had she decided to settle on this timeline for the ability to figure out the best way to get rid of Brice and all the information on the KR-113 experiments, but she also wanted time for her mothers. Time with both of them before she did anything drastic. She missed so much with them while under Brice, and even more after her mother's death. There were things she wanted to say to them, to experience with them before she through all caution to the wind. But now…Ali was thinking maybe this part of the plan hadn't been such the best idea.

They were getting too invested, too quick and so was she. But she hadn't been able to help herself. Here both of her mothers were alive and happy, for the most part. There was the problem of the two of them still barely speaking to each other, but that would eventually work itself out. Her parents were always meant to work out. They were made for each other.

But could she really go through with this plan? Could she risk never having this? Never existing?

Leaning back away from her mother's touch almost as if she'd been burned, Ali cleared her throat. "Are we, uh, finished? It's getting kinda late and I'm really tired."

Wondering where the sudden change in her daughter's posture and voice came from, Lena shrugged it off. Chalking it up to thinking that she no longer wanted to talk about her past. "Sure. Are you too tired to fly back to Kara's? You can always stay at the penthouse."

Standing up quickly, the young Kryptonian shook her head. "No. I'm fine. I'll see you later, Mom."

Without waiting for a response Ali was up and in the air, taking a detour around the city and away from any heavily populated areas (she was mindful that she didn't need to be seen by the public in this timeline if she could help it) to clear her mind. She needed to remind herself exactly why she was here in the first place. She came here to put an end to the suffering. Not just the suffering of her her family, but the world. The world needed Supergirl and Superman.

And the world would survive just fine without her.


End file.
